Timing your Blind Steals in Poker Tournaments
While stealing the blinds in a PokerStar tournament is of importance, there is a time and place for stealing blinds. By being somewhat selective of the timing of your blind steals, you will enable a profitable and important part of your poker tournament play.
When to Steal Binds in the Poker Tournament
While there is no traffic light to tell us when exactly to steal blinds, it can be said that blinds typically become worth stealing in the middle stages of the tournament. In fact, blind stealing becomes very profitable in the middle stages of a tournament, and on through the late and endgame stages of tournament play. The risk typically does not justify the reward when you only stand to win 30 to 40 chips. During the tournaments early stages, players are happy to defend their blinds and take a flop. Wait until the blinds are larger in relation to average chip counts, such as at least 50/100.
Additionally, ensure you are the first to act. Trying to steal when someone at Pacific Poker has voluntarily entered the pot behind you can be both dangerous, and costly. A player could be sneaking in with a monster, ready to pounce – setting a trap. As best practice, be certain you are usually the first to enter when attempting a blind steal.
As a rule, almost always steal in late position. After you Download PokerStars.net and you are first to act preflop (under the gun), stealing is not a prudent move. There are far too many players yet to act behind you. While poker is a game of incomplete information, we wish to be as informed as possible. When 7 to 8 players are left to act, we are not acting off any information. Additionally, the likelihood of running into a “real hand” is a bit too high to justify a steal move. Wait until you are acting in later position (i.e. – the button, cutoff, or hijack positions), as you can profitably make steal attempts there and have more information to work on with less players left to act behind you.
Waiting until the poker blinds are large enough to justify the reward, carefully selecting your target, and being the first to enter or raise a pot are key in the art of stealing blinds. Stealing blinds is a quick and easy way to amass a sizable chip stack in a poker tournament.